Wenger rues derby injuries to midfielder trio

Arsene Wenger was left to count the cost of a 1-1 draw with rivals Tottenham that added to the Arsenal manager's growing injury list.

Published

27 September 2014

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain struck 16 minutes from time to cancel out Nacer Chadli's opener for the visitors in the Premier League contest at the Emirates Stadium.

But it was the procession of the walking wounded that troubled Wenger, with Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere all leaving the action due to injury problems.

Arteta and Ramsey were substituted before half-time with respective calf and hamstring injuries, while Wilshere painfully turned his ankle during the first half and succumbed after the interval.

Wenger ruled Arteta and Ramsey out of this week's games against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League and top-flight pacesetters Chelsea, while Wilshere must be assessed.

He said: "I don't know how long they'll be out. I think Ramsey is a hamstring and Arteta is a calf. Wilshere [has] an ankle [problem].

"Wilshere, I don't know. The two others are out for Chelsea for sure."

The trio join the likes of Mathieu Debuchy, Olivier Giroud and long-term absentee Theo Walcott in the Arsenal treatment room, although Wenger refuted the suggestion that Wilshere and Ramsey are overtly susceptible to injuries despite both players spending prolonged spells on the sidelines over recent seasons.

"Wilshere, if you look at the incident again, has been tackled and turned his ankle over," he said.

"Ramsey is a concern that he did his hamstring. I don't understand because he had a good rest this week, I didn't play him against Southampton [in the 2-1 League Cup defeat] on Tuesday night. It's a surprise because he's usually a resistant boy.

"Suddenly we are short because if we lost three players today, and let's not forgot that we already have two out long-term plus Walcott, that's six. [Abou] Diaby is not ready so it starts to become a worry."

On a match that saw Arsenal record a fourth draw in six unbeaten Premier League matches, Wenger suggested Tottenham would be happier with the point having spent long periods on the back foot.

"I think if you look at the shots on goal Tottenham had and the amount of time they had the ball, they can say they have got a great result today," he said.

"Yes, it's the kind of game that you win if you don't give a goal away. They waited for us, defended deep to catch us on the break, and we had about 70 per cent possession. You have to be patient without making the mistake."

Wenger added: "It's frustrating. I think the positive is that we are unbeaten but the negative is that we've missed four points from the quality of the games we've played.

"Somewhere we have to keep that unbeaten record and I think at some stage we will win the games instead of drawing. I think today we would have won had we not conceded the first goal."